Recommended daily amount of milk from 12 months

[alatus]

Hi All,

Just wondering what the approximate daily amount of milk for a toddler is from 12 months. Ours is 13 months, and we seem to have been giving him too much. Not eating food etc.

The recommended amounts I've found on the web fluctuate from 350 ml to 568 ml (1 pint) per day.

Any definite guidelines available?

I understand the total amount factors in cheese, yoghurt etc. as well.

Also, should we be giving him vitamin supplements too?
If so, any recommendations?

Thanks!

The NHS says 300ml of milk or dairy equivalent between 1 and 3. It's at the end of the section "Babies and children under 5" in this link.

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/milk-dairy-foods.aspx

If they're having less than 500ml of formula per day, then yes, NHS advises a vitamin supplement is given. We used Abidec drops until DS was old enough to have the chewy vitamins.

Thank you!

:)

The 300ml figure is given as that much milk provides the recommended amount of calcium per day, 350mg. As long as they are getting that much calcium a day from all the food they eat then cow's milk isn't a hard and fast requirement.

My 15 month old still has 600ml which I know is far too much. Eats well though and has been on the 50th centile since birth. If I try and cut her milk she doesn't drink anywhere enough fluids over the day. She drinks water but nowhere near enough to replace the milk.

She also eats loads of Greek yoghurt and cheese so her calcium intake must be huge!

I'm not aware there's a problem with them having more milk as long as it's not filling them up so much that they're not eating a variety of other food.

Apparently too much milk can cause anaemia as it inhibits iron absorption. And you're right that it might mean they aren't hungry enough to eat a wider range of foods, so may miss out on other nutrients.

Mine eats a huge range of food so not worried about that. The iron consumption thing is interesting though especially as I'm prone to anaemia. Just don't know how to get enough fluids in her without giving her milk.

GotToBe when you say she doesn't drink enough fluids without the milk, does it cause a definite problem eg is she clearly dehydrated, not weeing much etc? Or do you just mean she doesn't drink the same volume of water as she does milk? The milk may be a comfort thing so she may be drinking more milk than she needs for hydration reasons.

I think she genuinely doesn't have enough fluids without the milk, she wees less and gets constipated. I might try gradually watering down the milk.